On a snow day at the Amica Mutual Pavilion, the Providence Friars were able to secure a 91-85 over the Seton Hall Pirates. The Friars were led in scoring by Bensley Joseph, who came off the bench to score 28 points, a career high, and made seven three pointers. With the victory, PC is now back over .500 at 9-8 and won back-to-back games for the first time since November 19th.
We break down how the Friars secured the victory.
Bensley Joseph on Fire– It was a career day for the graduate transfer from The U. Bensley Joseph came off the bench and delivered the goods for the Friars. Joseph set a career high in points with 28 against the Pirates and went a scorching 7/8 from behind the arc. Kim English has gone back to having Joseph being the 6th man, and it’s paying dividends. After scoring a combined 10 points in the losses against Marquette and UConn, Joseph has caught fire for the Friars. In two games this week Joseph combined for 46 points, shooting a blistering 10/14 from 3. It’s very possible he takes Big East Player of the Week honors after this effort.
Oswin Double-Double– Bensley Joseph wasn’t the only Friar with a career day at the AMP. Oswin Erhunmwunse had his first career double-double in the victory, and it was probably the best game he’s played of his career. He finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He had several alley-oop slams but his biggest bucket was his last. With 1:31 left and PC clinging 6 point lead Kim English called a timeout to set up a play with only 2 seconds on the shot clock. Jayden Pierre got the inbound to Oswin who gathered and put up a floating hook shot that fell in as the clock expired. It was an encouraging hoop for a guy who has struggled scoring around the rim when he isn’t dunking the ball. For Oswin, it seems he’s starting to figure out how to make his impact and the rest of the league better start to take notice. He’ll have his hands full the next two games against Kalkbrenner and Dixon, and this will be a great litmus test for him.
Offensive Shootout– I don’t think many people saw Seton Hall and Providence putting up a combined 176 points in this one. For Providence they certainly had some defensive lapses in this one that allowed Seton Hall to make some baskets and gain confidence. However the Friars offense has been on fire of late. PC scored at least 84 points in three consecutive Big East games for the first time since 1986-1987, which just so happens to be the year they made the Final Four. PC still has a ton of work to do just make the tournament let alone a run to the Final Four but this stretch has been encouraging, especially how things were trending no more than a week ago.
Summary
The Friars were able to protect their home court this past week, and this upcoming week will embark on probably their toughest road trip of the season. PC will be in Omaha on Tuesday to take on the Creighton Blue Jays and then will go to the Wells Fargo Center for a Friday night tilt against Villanova. Let’s try to get at least one! A 1-1 split is absolutely a victory for this Providence Friar squad.
P.S. The Winning Formula
Two trips back to Trinity, two victories. I’m just saying. *This is NOT a paid endorsement, but happy to entertain possibilities*
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